Do Women Laugh More than Men?

According to an article in News Medical, they do.  They could have saved a few bucks on research if they had just asked some of us standup comics.  We don't need a neurological study to know that women are easy - at least when it comes to making them laugh.    Last week I performed for 450 women in New Jersey.  I always put something funny in my intro to test the audience. With the corporate crowd, my intro usually gets a small titter, but with this all-women's group, I got roaring laughter.  I thought to myself, "Piece of cake!"  But, I got onstage, and my mic didn't work.  With any other audience, this would have been a disaster.  But with a woman's audience this just added to the fun, especially when I quipped, "Who else has problems with things this shape?"  Huge laughs, and they kept on coming.  Any comic doing an all-woman show will tell you the same thing - working for women is easy!  You just have to take longer pauses so nobody chokes and they can wipe off their running mascara. After years of doing corporate comedy, I've learned that women appreciate the subtleties of comedy material and will laugh at innuendos and character quirks.  They have the patience to listen to a longer story that promises a good payoff.  Men, on the other hand, seem to prefer quick, hard punch lines that keep on coming.  When performing for a women's group, I actually get laughs on the setups.  Men want you to get to the point of the joke as quickly as possible and not waste time describing characters or places. Why is this?  Do men and women like their jokes the way they like their sex?  Is it that women appreciate the build up to the laugh, and men just want to get there?  Maybe that's why female comics performing for a women's audience is like lesbians having sex -- you just know exactly what to do. If you are performing for, let's say, a group of male IT engineers, you might want to consider changing your set to connect.   Here are some tips: 1. Start with a self mocking joke.  By consciously lowering your status, the guys will cut you slack.  So I say, "You might be wondering why corporate hired a female stand-up comic to come talk to you, instead of someone who really knows what they're talking about... like a consultant."  This gets me laughs and scores me points. 2. Speak in the audience's language.  I make it obvious that I have researched what they do and acquainted myself with their verbiage and acronyms as you can see in my corporate video. They respect me because I did my homework and they like me because I make them feel special and important.   3. Make your own gender the butt of a joke.  I do jokes about how irritating women can be.  This makes it clear that I'm not just another woman, like their wife, pointing out all the male inadequacies.  "Why do women have to do a complete survey of everyone at the table to find out what they want to eat?  We're crazy!" Using these three techniques, the men in the audience will finally uncross their arms and laugh. -Judy

Steve Jobs - Lessons from a Great Speaker

When Steve Jobs passed away, not only did we lose a visionary, but we lost a world class speaker as well.  In fact, all of us who speak in front of others can learn a lot from the man who turned business keynote speeches into an art form. Not bad for a Techie. Here are some of the things I learned from the former CEO of Apple: 1. Connect to the Audience - No one likes being lectured to, and Jobs had the ability to make a speech sound "un-speechy" He talked to his audiences, not at them, which often made his remarks sound off-the cuff. In fact, because he was so conversational and didn't use notes, many people were surprised to learn that he spent a great deal of time memorizing and rehearsing his speeches. That's the brilliance of a great speaker - keeping it conversational and making a well rehearsed speech look improvised. 2. No Podium, No Notes, No PowerPoint - In order to have a successful speech, a speaker has to connect with an audience. Jobs made sure he connected by usually not having anything between him and his audience. Instead of being hidden behind a podium, Jobs strolled the stage. He had no notes and made eye contact with people, not paper. Jobs used pictures to convey a mood, or a product, not mind-numbing Powerpoint slides filled with technical data. 3. Be Yourself Authentic Self Onstage - Jobs didn't wear the typical CEO suit. He was a "jeans and a turtleneck" kind of guy... and that's exactly what he always wore. Many speakers want to look exactly like the audience and dress in "business-casual" rather than finding their own "brand" which includes not only their content, but what they wear. 4. Tell Stories Rather than Facts - Although Jobs was a Techie and spoke to a high tech audience, his speeches were never a mechanical recitation of specs, data, and insider jargon. Rather, he emphasized real-life stories of how Apple products changed lives and he focussed on the stories of the customers who used their products. 5. Reveal Your Personal Life Struggles In this era of reality shows where there are no personal secrets, even CEOs need to reveal the non-business side of themselves. As you will see in the linked video, Jobs draws  stories from some of the most pivotal points in his his life -- his loves, losses and his struggle with cancer. He inspired audiences with not only his products, but with his life. He will be missed. For those of you who have never seen Jobs in speak,, here are a few links to some videos. Compellation video Stanford 2007 Commencement speech - Urging graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -- including death itself. Judy

Stop Waiting for Fame - Go Out and Get it

OK, you've read my book, The Comedy Bible, and you probably have a standup act -- or a least a journal full of ideas. So, now what? How do comics get from being "nobody" to being "somebody"? How do you find fame? The problem I see is that there are so many talented people who have all the desire for fame - but who aren't willing to do what it takes to be successful. (No, I don't mean anything X-rated.) Many comics haven't realized that the way to fame has changed. They're engaged in "old school" showbiz, thinking that someone will come see them perform and discover them. But nobody is coming, because times have changed. There are plenty of ways for agents, managers, and others to discover talent without even going to clubs, and so some of them have stopped going. That's why you may have to discover yourself -- and take steps to start your career on your own. You may not have control over fame choosing you, but you can choose and control working your craft, developing your ideas, writing that script, or directing a YouTube movie. That's something you can do without needing anyone else's approval or money. Recently, I was talking to an actress friend of mine who said, "I want to do a TV talk show. I would be a great interviewer." At first, I wanted to discourage her, because I know how hard it is to get a talk show on network TV, especially if you're not a household name. But, then I thought, "You want to do a talk show - then just friggin' do it!"   Anyone who wants to star in their own show can do it with a few friends, a cheap camera, and an Internet connection. Many of the recipients of movie, TV, and book deals include people who got their start by creating DIY shows on YouTube.   Justin Bieber was a virtual unknown until his soon-to-be manager accidentally happened Justin Bieber upon his YouTube videos. Comedian Bo Burnham received so many hits on YouTube that Comedy Central Records picked him up and started producing his albums. There are many, many more stories like these, because online is the new Hollywood. It's hard to do it all yourself - but don't use that as an excuse to stop your career from happening. Don't know how to edit, shoot video, or write? Check out Craigslist. There, you can find your production team. But, if you can't get past these problems on small projects -- how are you going to handle the huge projects that come with success?   After you produce your work, you need to find your audience. But in new school Hollywood, you don't need to hire an expensive publicist. You can use Twitter, Facebook, and email programs to find and grow your audience, or as the industry calls it, your "platform."  Having a "platform" played a big part in my getting another book deal with a generous advance. Being the author of several successful books in the past doesn't guarantee getting a deal anymore in a down economy. So, I spent four months writing a really convincing book proposal. The bulk of the proposal was highlighting my "platform" of comics and speakers who I assist with reaching their career goals, to reassure the publisher that they weren't taking too much of a risk.  A few years ago, people in the industry didn't need this level of assurance. But we are in tough times, where nobody is taking a chance on anything. Even if you are famous and successful, you still have to do the grunt work to get the big deals. Just showing up with an idea is no longer enough. My friend is an Emmy award winning executive producer in reality TV. Even though she is extremely successful in the past and has a big shot agent, she still can't just show up and pitch an idea. So she's spent months writing up detailed treatments with act breaks, auditioned and cast her shows, and produced three minute "sizzle reels" for each show idea. She essentially does the entire show, herself, on her dime. Are you willing to put your own money and time into producing your ideas? Because if you don't believe in what you're doing - why would anyone else?  If you are really passionate about what you do - then DIY your career.  Sound like a lot of work? It is. The hard work it takes to get anything done tends to weed out the unmotivated. That means there's less competition out there for those of us who don't just talk about doing something, but who do the work needed to make something happen. This blog often feels like a full-time job, but it is an integral part of my DIY promotion platform.  I don't have advertisers or a publishing house saying here's $50 write us something funny each week.  But, this blog gives me a chance to share my knowledge with those that need it and I guess for now that's payment enough.  (Psst - I offer coaching services)  Click here to leave your feedback, or on the following links to get tips on out how to produce a sizzle reel and typical submission guidelines for a book proposal.    And don't be afraid to ask people to follow you.  If you don't ask, they won't.  On that note here are my accounts and if you like what i have to say follow, fan and favorite me.  I read everything. -Judy